A tappet of this type is disclosed in German publication DE-OS 43 14 619. In the event, the tappet should be installed in its receiving bore in the cylinder head at a significant angle to the vertical, i.e. in an extreme slanted disposition, an unfavorable assembly situation may occur in which the annular reservoir, which is bounded by the circular ring shaped section, as well as partial regions of a central reservoir, which is enclosed by the circular section, may substantially run empty on hydraulic fluid. This, for example, may be ascertained when the tappet should be integrated in a valve drive of an opposed engine with cylinder barrels extending orthogonal to the vertical.
The lack of sufficient hydraulic fluid and the resultant accumulation of air in the reservoirs leads, on the one hand, to a restriction of a clearance compensation function of a hydraulic clearance compensation element, which is connected to the circular section, as a consequence of compressibility of its high pressure chamber over a certain period, and, on the other hand, to misalignments of the coupling elements for selectively connecting the sections to one another.